"All credit goes to Alex"

Royals stopper Alex McCarthy will be part of Roy Hodgson's England squad tonight as the Republic of Ireland come to Wembley for an international friendly.

And huge credit must be paid to the player himself. "I’m delighted for him, so happy for Alex himself," said First Team Goalkeeping Coach Sal Bibbo.

"And I wasn't surprised to hear him get his England chance. He’s worked very hard on his rehab, he’s come back in great form and he has fully merited his call up."

"He was doing really well prior to his injury - quite a freak injury at the time, in a game he’d played well in, to catch his shoulder in the last kick of the game, and then to find himself out of the team."

"But it showed great strength of character to deal with that disappointment. I was speaking with Luke Anthony on a daily basis and he rehabbed exceptionally well, took the challenges on board.

"He turned a negative into a positive. He came back fitter, stronger and total credit goes to him for how he dealt with the disappointment of the injury.

"And it didn’t take him any time whatsoever to get back into his stride straight away...first game back in he was excellent and he just carried that form on. And he fully warrants his England call-up!"

"I think Alex has always had that in his make-up - he's very calm, very assured, has a great sense of self belief, and he brings that into his play. All the credit goes to Alex for what he has achieved."